Ads by Google Ads by Google

DoH still seeking to test for variant of Am Samoa’s three COVID-19 cases

Dept. of Health logo
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Department of Health plans to send test samples to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test for the variant of the two new imported COVID-19 positive cases from the Sept. 27th flight from Honolulu.

The two positive cases, were announced in an emergency news conference called by DoH last Thursday evening, as the two travelers, along with three-travelers who were in “close-contact” were immediately placed in isolation at an ASG facility for 14-days starting on Oct. 1st.

DoH’s Clinical Service acting director Dr. Elizabeth Lauvao said the samples from the two new positive cases would be sent off island to test for the type of variant. 

As for the first case from the Sept. 13th flight from Honolulu, DoH is still working on getting it out as soon as possible and Dr. Lauvao says it would take about a week or two to get the results back.

In a separate news conference last Thursday morning, DoH announced that the Samoa government has halted inter Samoa flights indefinitely, as they want to know the variant from the Sept. 13th flight.

DoH officials believe that Samoa will also now want to know the variant of the two new positive cases from the Sept. 27th flight. DoH also says that all ASG workers and others who worked the Sept. 27th flight including bus drivers were placed in quarantine, as was the protocol from the Sept. 13th flight.

Since that first positive case, the American Samoa COVID-19 Task Force has reduced the number of Hawaiian Airlines commercial flights through December this year to two.

The next Hawaiian Airlines flights are Oct. 14th, Nov. 01, Nov. 18th and Dec. 6th, according to the ask force announcement last month.

The task force, along with DoH continue to urge local residents to get a COVID-19 vaccination if they have not done so. As of last Thursday morning, the vaccination rate reached 64% while the goal remains at 80% and more.

Meanwhile, DoH in its latest advisory yesterday re-iterated that the two travelers who are local residents and arrived on the Sept. 27th flight from Honolulu and tested positive — remain in isolation.

“We continue to express appreciation to all passengers who followed travel requirements and current quarantine restrictions to keep American Samoa safe,” the advisory stays.

And DoH reminds the community to practice hand hygiene and social distancing from others if sick, wear a mask when in public or stay home until your heath improves.